ok here is something that has been bothering me for a while but ive been to busy and/or lazy to say anything about it. this mostly goes towards metagame.com but also to vsrealms.com, that star one, and that other universe one. y the #### r articles so terrible? i mean ill be honest i wrote an article just to make a quick buck and im pretty sure it was awful but i learned my lesson. 1st off metagames articles r terrible no offense but rian fikes article blow, there is some guy named thomas reeve who i have never even heard of and he rights articles which r terrible, doug tice is just straight up boring, tbs is an aussie so its hard to take him serious, justin gary's about design were the nut low, i think u guys r getting my point. on other websites u have alex brown talking about draft only problem with that is he hasnt day 2ed in forever (no offense alex), mark slack talking about well who cares its mark slack he hasnt won a game since charsky won it for him, etc. now i dont want stu to come out and say im lashing out at people like he did last time im not saying its only these people, but about 85% of the articles r next to worthless. like cant people right stuff that is interesting and has a point instead of random crap. so to everyone involved in articles write better ones, and if they dont u people that own the websites pay them less so they have more of a drive to put out something that isnt a compilation of bull####. now people that are on the approved list r, mr. prosak (not saying that cause he is on my team), shane wiggins (his have a nice flow), tommy ashton (there interesting and dont put me to sleep), and of coruse the dynamic duo billy zonos and andrew yip (prob the best 2 writers i have ever seen.....ever) so yeah in the end im pretty sure this will accomplish absolutely nothing but if the articles in the near future get better u know who to thank.

EDIT BY KAMIZA

Quote : Originally Posted by kamiza

I've added a poll to this thread so people can vote on the style of article that most interests them.

Thank you Alex.

If you really want an explanation, you should probably use capitals. And spell check for those single letter words. And put the thread in the right section. And realize that guys with skulls on their black shirts are not our main audience. And suggest something constructive besides "write better ones". And tell people to stop sending us emails that say they like our stuff. And try to write another one yourself. And try to write a third one the week after that. And try to write a fourth one the week after that. And keep going week after week, with capital letters and spell check. And realize that it is a tough gig. And give yourself a hand, it sounds like you need to get laid in the worst way.

I understand your frustration,

Stu

You are, of course, entitled to your opinion.

I honestly thought that writing articles would be a breeze - despite established writers saying "It's not that easy" and "Try coming up with something every week". I thought it would be a piece of cake. I was wrong.

Writing to a consistant standard every week, whilst trying to be a little unique and interesting is really, really tough at times.

Sometimes the words, sentances and paragraphs flow from your mind, through the keyboard with effortless ease. Other times it's like trying to ride a bike with square wheels up a hill.

I have said this time an time again. Metagame.com has many, many writers. none of which will appeal to everyone. That's why Toby Wachter has so many people producing work for him, so he knows that somewhere, someone is enjoying the article. At least a couple of Metagame's weekly articles appeal to you.

Yeah, who the hell is that Tom Reeve guy anyway ¬_¬

I don't know, but he's a bloody cheater. Floronic Man. Pffft.

Just for the record, Mr. Gellerman put this up originally in the Premiere Event section. Stupid kamiza moved it over.

Can someone link us to the supposed Alex Gellerman article? When I google him I get hairspray headbanger stuff.

I figured his command of the English language demanded a wider audience. Hence the move.

Here's the article. Haven't read it yet.

http://vs.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?id=1248

Arrrgh. School filters for the loss. Can someone tell me if it has capital letters or not? Does it mention Iron Maiden?

The couple is Yip and Zonos. Adding Gellerman is called a "threesome".

I get neither props nor abuse. Does that make me "special"?

I think he's afraid of your avatar. Thanks for the PM paste-over of his article.

Alex, didn't Spears write about the same thing on the same site? Didn't they actually try to charge money for his? Baby, people one rung down from that shouldn't throw stones.

People don't read articles anyway. Not many true articles get over 1000 hits on this site (those aren't unique hits either...). I write for the sake of writing (just as some people talk for the sake of talking, or post for the sake of posting). I consider my audience to be myself.

I agree that there aren't many good writers. I'm an article junkie, and I look forward to articles from less than 5 people.

Sucks, but it's true.

That's why you are good. Seriously.

I'd like to throw another angle at this. Why do we NEVER talk about Kergy and the Guy in the Coat writing for Inquest? This month's Heralds riff is hilariously classic stuff. Personally, when I write for myself, I try to ignore the haters and capture the essential excitement of the pop culture fizz that happens when we combine superheroes and a world-class trading card game with a funky Pro Circuit. Inquest does that every time. Inquest has always presented terrible janky decks, both for Magic and for Versus. They take the premise of each game and stretch it as far as possible. This month Kergy ranked all the Vs. System team affiliations every printed. Good times. That perspective is always insanely entertaining and it fills a void that competitive articles cannot reach. It is not only valuable for bringing new players into the game, it is the kind of article I like to read.

Unless it is BigSpooky rambling off with Dean Sohnle's Multiple Man tech. That is the best of both worlds.

You don't mean you expected to ever be able to activate that Science Spire did you?

:cheeky:

(This is like ripping up a picture of the Pope on Saturday Night Live and telling the Catholics not to be offended.)

I understand. You were just trying to improve the quality of the articles. One problem. You don't sign the checks. Try this:

1. Get a job.

2. Work on building a resume that would steer you toward being an editor.

3. Find people that can write the kind of articles you like, and see if they can keep up with a weekly.

4. Make it happen.

Until then? Thanks for playing.

Different people have different opinions on what makes a good article. For example, I cant stand Inquest articles and I dont bother reading them anymore.

I don't read your (your = Stu) articles heavy into comic book lore, but I love your minireports, PC babblings and whatnot.

Unfortunately, too many authors are trying to find their own niche, and very few people attempt the "actual ingame strategy" niche.